The more I read on this site, the more I love it. Thank you to all who put in the time to respond so thoughtfully. And of course, big thanks to the hosts!

I am a documentary filmmaker and attorney. I have made two films so far:
1 – Runners High about a group of inner city teenagers who trained for and ran the LA marathon: www.runnershighfilm.com. Played lots of festals, working on distribution, and learning lots along the way.
We are working on getting it out to the educational market now and I would love to hook up with other running films to do some cross promotions to running groups.

2 – Paper or Plastic? about a slice of Americana told through the national grocery bagging competition. www.paperoplasticmovie.com. Premiered last year at LAFF, played other fests, and playing this weekend at the Feel Good Festival. Got offers from distributors and we passed because the terms were ridiculous. We are taking it out ourselves and planning a limited theatrical release for later this year. Stumbling/learning and will share info. along the way.

3 – we're in development on a third project Chocolate www.chocolatedocumentary.com about three individuals using chocolate to change the world, but have not found funding and it's been put on hold. We hope to do some shorts along the way as well.

I am also fortunate to be working as an attorney with Richard Lee here in Oakland representing mostly independent filmmakers which has been a real joy. I also currently represent Distribber who I believe is providing an extremely valuable service to filmmakers in getting access for them to iTunes and helping them retain/control profits of their films.

My goals are to continue to tell stories visually. I love making films and have been lucky to work with incredibly talented folks (some on D-word – Garret Savage, Alex da Silva, Marco d'Ambrosio, Andrew Gersh, James leBrecht). I'm intrigued by the power of social networking in reaching an audience and want to learn how to do it effectively for our projects. I'm awed by the passion of filmmakers and grateful for communities like this.

This is my first POST. My name is Tim VandeSteeg; I am the Director/Producer of the new inspirational documentary My Run, the story of Terry Hitchcock, narrated by Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton.

After tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own, Terry Hitchcock seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families.

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to our film, My Run and hopefully gain your support to help us spread the word about Terryâ€™s amazing story. I am very proud of our film, which has been a labor of love for me for the past three years and Iâ€™m excited to announce its completion.

Being raised by a single parent myself, I understand the sacrifices and obstacles that face single parent families every day. I understand that itâ€™s â€œloveâ€ that keeps these families surviving and pushing forward. I believe the film acknowledges our true heroes todayâ€¦ single parents.

Thanks, Tim. Appreciate the kind words. Justine, been curious about Paper or Plastic for a while now (ever since there was some back and forth here about the title). Would love an update over in Marketing and Distribution.

Hi, my name is Stephan and I'm a freelance filmmaker, I work mainly for BBC departments, making films for internal use. For example, this year I directed a series looking at critical thinking and how programme makers and journalists can make better use of philosophy to tackle various issues such as the way we report science, or deal with value, and even talk about the future. Currently I'm working on a film about a photographer who has embarked on a project to photograph electricity pylons. There's a clip here – http://www.vimeo.com/5083013 – We're hoping to submit it to festivals next year. I've joined because there are some interesting conversations here, and because it could be a good place to sound out a problems and issues that naturally crop up in this work. Nice to meet you all, look forward to joining in.

Thanks Doug. I'm just trying to figure out how to do a character-driven doc on a local woman who is on a personal mission to save unwanted pets. I hope to do it in episodes for a start-up web/cable TV station. Then,who knows, maybe there will be enough good stuff for a real doc. I plan to shoot most of it on a new consumer cam – the new Pany hdc-tm300, which is really small. The interviews can be shot on my JVC hd200. When I picture this story, it vaguely looks like Jon and Kate Plus Eight...that kind or reality. What do you D-word folks think about this method of "gathering" material episodically?